Alstom building Israeli hydropower plant

French engineering firm Alstom is to build a hydropower plant in Israel which will be ready by 2018.

Today the firm said it signed two contracts worth €120 million (£99m) to build and run the power plant 60 kilometres east of Haifa, the largest city in northern Israel.

The 300MW Gilboa plant will be the country’s first to use pumped storage. Whereas conventional hydropower uses the natural lay of the land to let water rush past a turbine, this type of project uses energy from other power stations to pump water to a high reservoir. From here it can be used when more electricity is needed at peak times.

Jérôme Pécresse, President of Alstom Renewable Power said the contract shows the firm’s commitment to supporting the Israeli energy market.